1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to nestable shopping carts and, more particularly, to a nestable shopping cart having a multiple carrier child seat.
2. Background Description
Shopping carts are widely used in supermarkets, department stores, airports and the like. A useful feature of shopping carts is the ability to be nested with other shopping carts. This nesting feature allows the shopping carts to be compactly stored in a single row at a predetermined location of the supermarket or other store without the need for additional space which could otherwise be used for other more effective purposes. The nesting of the shopping carts also allows for easy access to the carts by customers on a self-service basis.
To provide nesting for several carts, the shopping cart should have a rear panel that pivots upward upon being engaged by the front portion of a similar basket of another cart. The basket in the second cart can then be fitted inside, or nested, within a rear portion of the basket of the first cart so that numerous carts can be neatly and compactly arranged facing front-to-back in a single row. One such cart is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,347 to Chiv which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However, a variety of other cart designs, including luggage carts, may also be nestable.
In conventional nestable carts, a foldable child seat is often added to the rear panel of the basket. In one common arrangement for such a foldable seat, the back support panel of the seat is pivotally attached to the chassis near the bottom of the rear basket panel. A fold down seat panel then traverses the back support panel and the rear basket panel to form a child seat inside the basket near the upper portion of the rear basket panel. Generally, the child seat is arranged so that the child""s torso is inside the basket while the child""s legs extend through openings in the back panel. Such child seats generally have room for only one child, are confining and uncomfortable and often result in restless behavior.
The above described foldable child seats may also have a higher center of gravity. Specifically, a heavy child seated in the foldable seat of a lighter weight cart may significantly raise the center of gravity of the cart, especially when the rest of the basket is empty or the child attempts to stand up within the cart. To overcome this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 3,044,801 to Vicany discloses a cart with a single, lower, front-facing seat extending across the rear width of the cart for providing a lower center of gravity. However, such carts have to be extremely wide in order to accommodate larger children and the seat portion of these carts often takes up a significant amount of space in the basket. In addition, seating areas do not provide any protection for some portions of the child""s body.
Another example of a child seat is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,114 to Downing et al. Downing et al. show a shopping cart having two child seats, arranged side-by-side, facing backwards in the basket portion of the cart. However, much like the Vicany cart, the Downing et al. cart has to be extremely wide in order to accommodate larger children and the seat portion of these carts often takes up a significant amount of space in the basket.
As still another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,122 to Doty discloses a shopping cart attachment which allows two children to ride backwards, facing front to back, within the shopping cart. In this type of cart, only one child takes up space inside the basket, itself. Although the Doty cart addresses the problem of excessive cart width, it creates a new problem where the child in the rear seat can be easily taunted by the other child. This arrangement also does not allow both children to face forward during the movement of the cart.
Another multiple child seat cart is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,548 to Reiland et al. In Reiland et al. a multiple child carrier accessory which attaches to an existing shopping cart using a large and cumbersome mounting bracket is shown. The device includes a carrier body with left and right forward-facing seat areas and a center divider which generally prevents the riders from interacting with each other when seated within the cart. The child carrier accessory is not easily maneuverable when not attached to a conventional shopping cart. Also, although children in this carrier are somewhat protected by the side support portions formed in each seat, their legs and feet are still not protected. Moreover, the seats in the carrier accessory are arranged at approximately the same height as the foldable seat in the basket and thus may raise the center of gravity for the carrier and cart when occupied by children.
It is also noted that carts with multiple child seats do not allow for the nesting relationship between adjacent carts. For example, while an auxiliary unit located behind the main shopping cart basket might present a practical approach to providing multiple child seats for a shopping cart, such an auxiliary unit does not enable some form of nesting between similar shopping carts to minimize storage space required for idle carts. This can pose a problem from both a storage and access standpoint.
In one aspect of the present invention, a multiple child seat nestable shopping cart is provided with a wheeled chassis having a longitudinally extending central area. A shopping cart basket is mounted on the wheeled chassis and includes a front nesting portion. A seating module is connected to the wheeled chassis and has at least one seat facing inwardly and positioned behind a rear portion of the shopping cart basket. The seats are positioned, dimensioned and configured so as to receive a front nesting portion of another cart basket over the at least two seats when unoccupied. The seating module also has at least one front wheel and at least one rear wheel. The at least one seat may be at least two seats which face each other.
In another aspect of the present invention, a nestable shopping cart and child seat has a basket module including a forwardly projecting basket having a front nestable portion. A seat module having a front set of wheels and a rear set of wheels and a longitudinal central area is positioned in a rear of the wheeled basket module. The seat module includes at least a first child seat facing a second child seat, both facing towards the longitudinal central area. A rear area in the seating module receives another shopping cart over the first child seat and the second child seat.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a multiple child seat nestable shopping cart having a wheeled shopping cart and a wheeled seating module with at least one front wheel and at least one rear wheel is provided. A first and second inwardly facing seat are spaced apart from one another and are both positioned within the wheeled seating module on opposite sides thereof. The first and second inwardly facing seats are dimensioned and configured so as to permit a forward overhanging portion of a basket of another shopping cart to pass over the seats for nesting. A floor extends between the first and second inwardly facing seats.